Once Upon
a Christmas Time, not so long ago,
There lived a Little boy who could testify
to what you soon will know.
There is a holiday called Christmas celebrated
mostly in the West
Unrecognized Until recently in the East for its spirit,
joy and zest.
This little boy - Dae Jong Won-lived far from this in the
East.
He did not recognize Jesus, Santa Claus nor his Elkin Beasts.
Indeed,
Korean, Buddhist-a way of wonder you might know
He hadn't seen the likes of
mangers, Christmas Trees, mistletoe
Then one day a small school appeared
in his rural down
That brought with it three bleached beings making strange
vocal sounds.
Two were mother and Father; the third was their son.
The
Latter was the same age as little Dae Jong Won.
Dae Jong could never quite
adjust to their light-haired sight
But friendly smiles persevered so he soon
lost his sense of fright,
Then one snowy December Day, he ran into their child
Sculpting a fat man from the snow, humming a tune so mild.
Enchanted by
the sound, Dae Jong approached, timid and unsure.
The blonde boy turned and
smiled a smile of crystalline pure pleasure.
Dae Jong joined in the snow sculpting
and caught on to his tune
They played this way in the snow all tranquil afternoon.
As
Twilight Came, the Blonde Boy beckoned Dae Jong to His Home.
So he followed,
time unaware, unsure of where else to roam.
The blonde boys' parents spoke
broken Korean with their new guest
Words that faltered were replaced by facial
quirks and jests.
A small spruce tree stood in a corner, bejeweled and alight.
The boy could only stare, transfixed, at this warming sight.
Temple at Solar
New Year conjured in his thoughts
Adornments, hanging prayers, the messages
they brought.
He saw the small Nativity Scene with its statuettes
Like
his little statues of Buddha, frozen spiritual vignettes.
They Told him as
best they could the story of the scene,
To him it held good virtue for all
their broken Korean.
He brought the story home that night, and told his
family about it.
His parents and sister smiled, but his grandmother strongly
doubted it.
The next day, his grandmother conferred with her friends
About
these people, their Christmas, their trends.
They told her how these Christians
aimed to subvert and replace
Buddha's wisdom, their ceremonies, their cultural
grace
With the promise, the bribery, of their competitive race
Embodied
by their beliefs, their customs and their God's face.
The grandmothers'
anger swelled up, like a typhoon inside her,
Swearing the boy would have none
of this, she solicited his father.
And so When Dae Jong Won returned home
that night,
He was confronted with to his horror with this fight.
Although
trying his best, he could not protest
Banishment of his friends from the West.
In bits and bouts of slumber that night, he dreamt of a scene
A lotus shaped
manger holding untitled spirit, pure and serene.
It was Christmas eve, though
not a soul could tell
In Dae Jong's home, such symbols did not dwell.
Dae Jong awoke to a strange rapping sound
Against his window, coming from
the ground.
He peered out, and in shock, surprise and sheer joy,
Saw
the silhouette of his secret friend, the other boy.
He crept down the stairs
to the door, full of stealth,
Past his homes' golden gates displaying its
wealth.
Twinkling eyes met-reassurance to cast out regret
For such rebellious
actions, consequences they beset
All night, they worked and played in the
snow
The product, the endpoint, even they didn't know.
Filled with a
magic, spirit, enlightened zest
In their work, they seemed almost possessed
By an energy, angelic, peaceful, pure and serene
'Til at last, sunrise dawned
on the end to their means.
There in the glow of an azure-rose sunrise,
Was a scene so beautiful tears filled their eyes.
A barn, a manger, built
from blocks of snow
A Nativity Scene many would not know.
A baby, image
of wisdom and energy unknown
Anonymous to titles people like to be shown.
Exhausted by now, the two boys nestled deep
Inside the lotus shaped manger
they fell asleep.
The families found them in this way,
And woke the
boys, to their dismay.
They began to fight, to bicker and blame
Each other
for the boys' truancy; tempers aflame.
Then they stopped and saw with their
true hearts
the nativity scene, the message it imparts.
The nameless baby,
untitled belief, the simple pure spirit,
The God - like energy we seek whatever
one names it.
Kinship, trust, honesty, love, peaceful and true
Irrespective
of religion, yet filled with virtue.
Befriended in wonder, filling every sense
The families bonded in enlightened existence.
